2013 b-m emea crisis survey results
DESCRIPTION
ÂTRANSCRIPT
2013 Crisis Survey
1
Methodology
PSB conducted a total of 201 online interviews in Europe amongst business-decision makers in October 2013
Business-decision makers are defined as respondents who:
Aged over 25,
Full time or self employed/business owner
Have an active interest in business and current
affairs issues,
Have final or significant decision making power
in their business.
Overall, half of the respondents were from large enterprise businesses and half were from SME businesses
Region Sample
size
Margin
of error
France 40 +/-16
Germany 40 +/-16
Italy 40 +/-16
Spain 42 +/-16
United Kingdom 39 +/-16
Overall 201 +/-7
THE THREAT OF CRISIS IS A
KEY CONCERN FOR BUSINESS
LEADERS
3
The threat of crisis remains a key concern
Q64 As a business decision maker, what are the top three concerns that keep you up at night?
Base: Overall (201)
Q17 What does ‘crisis’ mean to you in a business context?
“A crisis creates opportunity for
realignment and correction”
-Germany SME-
“where the future of the
business or part of it is at
serious risk”
-UK enterprise- “event or events which need to be
tackled urgently with maximum
resource, which have their potential to
do serious harm to the business.”
-UK SME-
“An internal or external
situation that starts to disrupt
the life of the business”
-France SME- “when you start to lose
customers for whatever
reason”
-Germany SME-
A crisis is defined as a disruption to the business which
puts the company’s future at risk
Base: Overall (201)
41% of business leaders continue to experience crises
Q39 Has your company experienced a crisis while you’ve been working there?
HAVE NOT
EXPERIENCED A
CRISIS HAVE
EXPERIENCED
A CRISIS
HAVE EXPERIENCED A
CRISIS WITHIN THE
LAST YEAR
47
53
41
59
Yes No
2011 2013
Base: Overall 2013 (201),Overall 2011 (204), Overall 2009 (200)
Controversial company developments is STILL the
most commonly encountered crisis…
Q43 What sort of crisis did your company encounter?
(Among those who experienced a crisis)
Base: Experienced a crisis (82)
“Lay-off of huge number
of employees due to
internal unrest within the
organisation”
-UK, Enterprise
“The Icelandic volcano stopping
flights over Europe meant our
customers were unable to travel –
we also had customers stranded”
-UK, Enterprise
“Failure of computer security
allowed third parties access to
our database”
-FR, Enterprise 4
13
10
17
39
9
12
17
16
11
8
19
36
6
12
15
15
17
18
20
21
34
Criminal actions (e.g. bomb attack or fire)
Intense political scrutiny of your company
Intense regulatory scrutiny of your company
Online or digital security failure
Danger to product safety (e.g. defective or contaminated parts)
Critical or negative new media campaigns (e.g. criticism over social media)
Technical accidents (e.g. natural disaster or explosion)
Logistical difficulties (e.g. problems with transport/delivery)
Controversial company developments (e.g. lay offs)
2013
2011
2009
…It is ALSO the crisis that companies most expect to
experience within the next year
Q30 How likely do you think it is that your company will experience each of the following in the next 6-12 months?
55 56 57 61 62 66 71 74
45 43 43 39 37 33 28 26
Controversialcompany
developments
Logisticaldifficulties
Online or digitalsecurity failure
Critical ornegative new
mediacampaigns
Intenseregulatoryscrutiny
Technicalaccidents
Danger toproduct safety
Criminal actions
Likely Unlikely
56% of Enterprise
respondents think it is likely,
in comparison to 34% of
SMEs.
47% of Enterprise
respondents think it is
unlikely, in comparison to
32% of SMEs.
Base: Overall (201)
Organisations TEND TO ANTICIPATE THE SAME KINDS OF
CRISES THEY HAVE ALREADY EXPERIENCED
Criminal actions (such as a bomb attack or fire)
Technical accidents (such as a natural disaster or
explosion)
Danger to product safety (i.e. defective parts or
contaminated materials)
Logistic difficulties (problems with transport
or delivery)
Controversial company developments (such as
lay-offs or restructuring)
Critical or negative new media campaigns (e.g.
criticism over social media / online channels)
Online or digital security failure (E.g. personal
information on customers lost, or company internal
emails being stolen)
Intense political scrutiny of your product or company
Intense regulatory scrutiny of your product or
company
Cri
sis
en
co
un
tere
d
Occurrence: High Concern: Low
Occurrence: Low Concern: Low
Occurrence: High Concern: High
Occurrence: Low Concern: High
Perceived likelihood of company experiencing each crisis
Base: Overall (201)
Experiencing a crisis is EXPENSIVE
Q151 Approximately, how much did the crisis cost your company? (Among those who have experienced a crisis)
SMES SAY A CRISIS COST
THEM BETWEEN
€10,000- €49,999
ENTERPRISES SAY A
CRISIS COST THEM
BETWEEN
€500,000- €999,999
Base: Among those that had experienced a crisis from DE, FR, IT and SP (72); overall SME (38); enterprise (34)
THE AVERAGE COST OF A
CRISIS TO A COMPANY
FOR MANY COMPANIES
CRISIS MANAGEMENT IS STILL HANDLED INTERNALLY
11
INTERNAL TEAMS remain primarily responsible for
crisis planning
Base: Those with a crisis plan 2013 (102); those with a crisis plan 2011 (105)
Q101 How did your company develop its crisis management plan?
14
18
62
12
33
51
We employed an outside firm to create a crisis action plan forus
We used both external and internal resources to develop acrisis action plan
We have an internal team that created a crisis action plan
2013
2011
9% of SME in
comparison to 15%
Enterprise
The proportion hiring an outside company to deal with a
crisis has almost doubled since 2009
Q44 What did your company do at the time to manage the crisis? (among those that had experienced a crisis)
Base: Experienced a crisis 2013 (82); Experienced a crisis 2011 (123) ; Experienced a crisis 2009 (106)
34
24
8
47
35
12
51
30
15
We handled the crisis internally either through thePublic Relations Department or Senior Management
We have/had an in-house team especially dedicatedto dealing with crisis management
We hired an outside company to help us managethe crisis
2009 2011 2013
In the event of a crisis, INTERNAL ACTIVITIES are the focus
Q112-131 Please place these steps in the order of the steps you have or would go through in a crisis situation
Prepare an internal audit 47
Establish a crisis team 43 Organise a crisis check-list 42 Receive training from your internal crisis team 42
Monitor Issues 38 Conduct a crisis workshop 31
Receive training from your external crisis team 30
Prepare Press Statements 29 Evaluate crisis scenarios 28
Publish and distribute a crisis manual 25 Have an on-site crisis team 25
Call your crisis hotline – run by an external company 23 Train crisis team in media relations 20 Engage with consumers/public 18
Engage with local or national politicians 13 Engage with online stakeholders 12
Engage with digital communications / social media 11 Engage with national regulators or public authorities 8 Engage with European Parliamentarians 6
Engage with NGOs 5
Base: Overall (201)
Opinion is split on the best style of LEADERSHIP when
managing a crisis
Q133B Thinking about the most effective attributes for a leading team or figure to have when directing a business out of a crisis, which of these are most
important? (top 8)
27
39
37
41
33
36
45
43
26
30
31
36
38
39
43
48
Ability to challenge status quo
Setting direction
Ability to delegate and empower
Excellent communicators
Strong interpersonal skills
Clear vision
Decision-making
Accountability
C-suite Non C-suite
Base: Overall (201); C-Suite (107); non C-Suite (94)
43
50 50 48
Command and control Collaboration
C-Suite Non C-Suite
Q133A Which of the following two styles of leadership do you believe to be most effective when managing a
crisis?
NEW MEDIA HAS ADDED TO
THE CHALLENGE OF
MANAGING CRISES
16
23 15
44
42
32
43
20132011
More difficult
About thesame
Less difficult
A third say it is MORE DIFFICULT TO PLAN for a crisis
Q50 Do you think it is more or less difficult for companies like yours to plan for a crisis than it was
5 years ago?
The pressure to RESPOND QUICKLY is an increasing
difficulty in planning for a crisis
Base: Those that say it is more difficult to plan for a crisis 2013 (66); those that say it is more difficult to plan for a crisis 2011 (90)
Q52 Which, if any, of the below are reasons why you feel it is more difficult to plan for a crisis today? (Among those who feel it is more difficult to plan)
“More channels to address, increase in
stakeholder groups and groups of
'interested but biased' parties. Mis-
information via the internet.”
-UK enterprise-
“Globalization, changes in
environmental conditions,
transparency, sustainability.”
-Germany enterprise-
34 31
24 21
33
21
50
35 33
30 29
18
Need to respond extremelyquickly
More globalized nature ofcommunications
Increased anti-corporatesentiment in public and/or
media
Increased public demandfor transparency
Overall challenges of digitalcommunications
Rise of citizen journalism /social media (e.g.Facebook, Twitter)
2011 2013
Recent high profile scandals have increased concerns
and PROMPTED THOUGHT AND PLANNING
Base: Overall (201)
Q53 To what extent have these crises increased your own company’s concerns regarding potential crises?
“There have been a number of high profile crises over the past 12 months including the horsemeat scandal, the fixing of Libor, and the US Government shutdown.”
8
69
23
Increased
Stayed about the same
Decreased
SAY THAT RECENT
CRISES HAVE MADE
THEIR COMPANY THINK
ABOUT ITS OWN CRISIS
PLANNING
Q56 To what extent have these recent crises made your company think about its own crisis planning?
An increasing number of companies HAVE a digital
crisis communications plan
Q110 Does your current company have a digital crisis communications plan?
Q111 How did you or your company develop its current digital crisis communications plan?
20
22
57
8
31
62
We employed an outside firmto create a crisis action plan for us
We used both external and internalresources to develop a crisis action plan
We have an internal teamthat created a crisis action plan
2013
201157
52
28
39
2011 2013
Yes
No
Base: Overall (201); Overall 2011 (204)
37
29 28
21 20 16
Slow response time Lack of dedicated team torespond to new media
New media (includingsocial media) channelsflooded with negative
commentary
Treating old and newmedia types differently
Being undermined byemployees
Not seeking the support orassistance from third
parties
Companies still FEEL OVERWHELMED by online
communication channels
Q54 What do you think are the biggest issues for companies in crisis like Tesco, Barclays, and the BBC when responding to the online public debate?
“A major factor in these crises was the online public debate over new media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and blogs.”
“They should have a team
that monitors all new media
for any potential crisis and
responding quickly with
damage control.”
-UK SME-
“It is a whole new ball game with
rumours ricocheting around the
digital world.”
-UK SME-
“The communication with the public has
changed, but, many companies do not
know how to handle it and use old
communication methods .”
-Italy SME-
Base: Overall (201)
New media has increased pressure during crises, but
used correctly IT CAN HELP manage reputation
70% of respondents believe that new media is
playing an increasing role in driving
reputation during crisis
64% believe that new media (including social
media) makes crises more difficult to
manage
60% Believe that it is hard to know who
influences opinion online
59% Think that new media has significantly
increased the potential cost of a crisis
50% Think social media has made it harder to
recover from a crisis, while the other 50%
believe it has made recovering easier
Base: Overall (201)
CORPORATE PURPOSE
IS A VITAL TOOL
IN THE CURRENT LANDSCAPE
23
91% say that their company has a clear corporate purpose
QCP1 To what extent do you agree or disagree that your company has a clear corporate purpose?
QCP1 What do you understand by the term ‘corporate purpose’?
“This is the identity of a
company”
-France enterprise-
91%
8%
Agree
Disagree
but only 45% “strongly”
agree; 46% agree
“somewhat”
“Your governing ethos,
what makes the company
tick”
-UK enterprise-
Base: Overall (201); agree & disagree (top 2 box)
Corporate purpose enables organisations to deliver
across key reputational metrics
QCP4 To what extent do you agree or disagree with the statements below? (% strongly agree)
45 43
41 37
40
17
22
11
28
22
My company has strong leadership
My company invests in employee development
My company contributes to society
My company acts in an environmentally responsible way
My company invests in the local community
Has a CP No CP*52% amongst those with
a plan and only 32%
amongst those without 27% amongst
those without a
plan
Base: Companies with a CP (183); Without a CP (18)
*Denotes a low base size
And becomes EVEN MORE IMPORTANT during a crisis
Base: Among those that experienced a crisis and had a clear corporate purpose (76); among those that used their
corporate purpose to handle their crisis (57 )
OF THOSE THAT
HANDLED THEIR CRISIS
INTERNALLY
USED THEIR
CORPORATE PURPOSE
TO MANAGE IT
“We tried to promote our quality
work emphasizing the ethics of
the way we work.”
-Italy enterprise-
“It was important to keep
customers and the media
updated as to the impact and
what actions we were taking.”
-UK enterprise-
Q44C To what extent did having a clear corporate purpose help you in managing the crisis?
11
90
2013
Helped Did not help
“It acted as a reminder to staff of
the objectives of the business”
-France SME-
Q44A Did you use your corporate purpose in external communications to talk about what you do and why
you do it, in dealing with the crisis?
CRISIS PLANNING IS IMPERATIVE
AND MANY COMPANIES
REMAIN UNPREPARED
27
Crisis plans are seen as BENEFICIAL yet half of
companies still do not have one in place
Q95 To what extent do you agree or disagree that having a crisis plan in place would benefit
your company?
Q96 Does your current company have a crisis management plan?
14 16 23
86 85 76
2009 2011 2013
Agree
Disagree51 49 49
49 51 51
2009 2011 2013
Yes
No
Base: Overall 2013 (201); overall 2011 (204); overall 2009 (200)
A third of those without a plan say crisis management
planning is NOT A PRIORITY Q157 What are the key barriers to developing a crisis management plan for your company or
organisation? (Amongst those without a plan)
10
14
14
18
24
25
31
33
I think setting up such a plan within my company would be difficult to accomplish
Too difficult to manage
I don’t feel I have enough information about what is out there and how it could benefit me
It would take too much time to plan
My business doesn’t need a crisis management plan
It’s expensive
It’s rarely going to be needed
It’s not a high enough priority
2013
Base: those without crisis plan (99)
24
24
24
25
25
27
27
28
29
29
19
21.00
23
25
26
37
23
29
29
35
18
24
23
22
22
30
43
30
53
Media training
Receive training from your internal crisis team
Plan to liaise with online stakeholders
Issue monitoring
A previously set-up crisis team
Internal Audit on crisis awareness, preparedness and management'
Prepared crisis check lists
Action Plan for crisis management
Evaluation of possible scenarios
Financial planning in case of a crisis
2009
2011
2013
FINANCIAL planning and evaluation of SCENARIOS
are the most important components of a plan
Q65-89 How important are each of the following components to a crisis preparedness/communications plan? (% very important, showing top 10)
Base: Overall 2013 (201); overall 2011 (204); overall 2009 (200)
24% of those with a plan have NOT TESTED it in the
past year
Q106 In the past 12 months have you done a crisis communications exercise to test the efficacy of your plan in any of the following areas?
11
12
16
19
21
21
24
30
31
Intense political scrutiny of your product orcompany
Criminal actions
Danger to product safety
Logistic difficulties
Controversial company developments
Intense regulatory scrutiny of your product orcompany
None of the above
Technical accidents
Online or digital security failure
2013
Base: those with a crisis plan (102)
BELIEVE THAT THEIR PLAN WILL
COVER THE COMPANY TO SOME
EXTENT, BUT THERE WILL BE
GAPS
IN THE EVENT OF CRISIS:
OF COMPANIES THAT HAVE
SUFFERED A CRISIS THINK
THEIR CURRENT PLAN STILL
HAS GAPS
51% of companies recover from crisis within a year but
those with a crisis management plan RECOVER FASTER
Q45 How long would you say it took your company to recover from the crisis?
OF COMPANIES THAT
DON’T HAVE A PLAN
OF COMPANIES WITH A
CRISIS MANAGEMENT
PLAN RECOVERED IN 6
MONTHS
VS
Base: Those that experienced a crisis 2013 (82); those that experienced a crisis 2011 (123); those that experienced a crisis 2009 (106)
6
15
57
11
2 2
10
19
44
15
6
0
11 8
38
26
6 4
2 weeks or less 2 weeks-1 month 2-12 months 1-2 years 3-5 years 5 years or more
2009 2011 2013
When it comes to planning for a crisis, there are
THREE TYPES of company
Boy Scout (Well-Prepared)
Those with strong,
comprehensive plans, which
will stand up to the pressure
of a crisis
20%
Tightrope walker (Vulnerable)
Companies with plans that will
not necessarily cover them,
or which aren’t sufficiently
comprehensive
40%
Ostrich (Exposed)
Lack plans entirely,
they see only barriers to
creating plans and thus
avoid making them
40%
Boy Scout (Well-Prepared)
Tightrope walker (Vulnerable)
Ostrich (Exposed)
22% 20%
2011 2013
45% 40%
2011 2013
33% 40%
2011 2013
THE NUMBER OF EXPOSED COMPANIES HAS
INCREASED SINCE 2011
Boy Scout (Well Prepared, 20%)
• More likely to think a crisis management plan is important (46%)
• More crisis focused than other groups
• 70% review their plan every year
• All say that their plan would be satisfactory to take on a crisis.
• Have a specific digital crisis comms plan (76%)
• Most common components include:
• Evaluation of possible scenarios (49%)
• Action plan for crisis management (46%)
• Prepared crisis check-lists (44%)
• Internal audit on crisis awareness, preparedness, and management (41%)
• Most likely to have a clear corporate purpose (63%) and strong leadership (66%)
35
STILL ONLY ONE IN FIVE COMPANIES ARE
PREPARED FOR A CRISIS
Tightrope Walker (Vulnerable, 45%)
• Have a crisis management plan, and put importance on this (34%)
• But less engaged with crisis management than the Boy Scouts:
• Only 34% say a crisis plan is very important
• Less likely to review plan frequently (58% review their plans every year or less)
• Only 32% say their plan would be satisfactory in the event of a crisis
• Main barriers to developing a more adequate plan are the time it would take (22%), a lack of
information (21%) and the cost (17%).
• Less likely to have a clear corporate purpose (51%), strong leadership (51%), and to invest in
employee development (48%).
• Less likely to have a digital crisis comms plan (66%).
36
TWO IN FIVE COMPANIES ARE VULNERABLE
37
Ostrich (Exposed, 35%)
• Do not have a crisis plan – though 27% have experienced a crisis
• 39% are currently in a crisis.
• Less likely to have a clear corporate purpose (36%) or strong leadership (31%), or to invest in
employee development (29%).
• The barriers to creating a plan are:
• Thinking it's rarely going to be needed (35%)
• It’s not high priority (32%)
• It's expensive (25%)
• Less likely to think having a plan would decrease recovery time in the future.
TWO IN FIVE COMPANIES ARE CURRENTLY UNPREPARED
FOR A CRISIS
In summary
UNLIKELY TO
EXPERIENCE
REGULATORY
SCRUTINY
UNLIKELY TO
EXPERIENCE
POLITICAL
SCRUTINY
The threat of crisis remains a key concern for business leaders
For many companies crisis management is still handled internally
New media has added to the challenge of managing crises
A clear corporate purpose is a vital tool in the current landscape
Business decision makers are split on whether leadership in a crisis
should be about command and control, or collaboration
However, crisis planning is still imperative and many companies
remain unprepared